Pocket lighter



July 26, 1949. F. D. MAsoN POCKET LIGHTER Filed Aug. 2, 1946 TTORNEY All..

the casing I. Preferably the sidewalls 39 of thev outer casing are bowed inwardly very slightly so. Y

as to frictionally grip against the exterior of the inner casing I; with this construction the cover may be readily removed from the inner casing i by pressing inwardly against the said edges of the outer casing 29, as indicated by the arrows A .shown in Fig. 3. This minimizes the grip of the sidewalls 39 against the inner easing and they may be readily separated.

' It was pointed'out hereinabove that the flint wheel v22 and'lid` Ill are mounted on the same shaft' ||1,` and they are preferably operatively connected so that movement of the lid to open the lighter is eifective to rotate the'iiint wheel and cause sparks to yfly fromv the ilint' I6 against the end of the wick 23 to ignite the inilammable liquidy carried by-it. nsshown. Vrotar-,ion of the int wheel 22 is achieved by a -relatively at springlratchet 3| that extends around the shaft i i and has a resilient ear ortalb 32 projecting out ofthe plane thereof toward ratchet teeth or projectionsd at one side of the iiint wheel 22. One edgeI-'i'lof the spring 'ratchet `3| is preferably straight and extends closely along the under side of the lidlso that movement of the lid is effec- 'tive to :press against and rotate the Spring' ratchet 3i `about'the `shaft II.` The -lint wheel 22 is held over the flint |76, against theA spring ratchet 3|, vand in ali'gn-mentwith the Wick 23 by a slit bushing 3'! positioned over the shaft Il intermediate the opposide sideof the flint wheel 22 and a ange 8 on the lid I0; a smaller innerbushing 38 may be tteol over the shaft and into the interior'of the slit bushing 3'| to minimize excessive transverse movement of thev latter bushing with respect to the shaft Il. Any *suitable number of teethr 3| may be utilized at the side of theilint wheel vbut either three or live teeth havebeen found to work well in actual practice. Rapid upward movement of the lid IU is obtained by a coil spring 39 which extendsv around the pin or shaft' Il and has one end thereof resting'against the horizontal partition 2 and the other'end thereof pressing against'the underside or the lid I9 to urge itupwardly at all times toward the open position illustrated in Fig. '1" of the drawing.` The lower leg of this spring 39 preferably passes freely through the slit in the bushing 3l. When :the Vpush pin 40 is movedinwardlly in oppositionto the resilient' locking member 4|', the upper end ofthe latter'member moves oifthe ledge'of a catch Y42 secured to the under side of the lid and the coil spring 39 causes the lid to ily quickly upwardly. IA cap or snuii'er 43 secured to the underside of the lid uncovers'the upper end of the "wick 23. Rotation of the flint wheel against thei'lint I6 is eifective to ignite uid Icarried by the wick 23 and the llame from the thus ignited wick may beused to light a cigarette or cigar in the zusual manner. l Y

Accidental opening' of the lid I9 may be minimizedby a lock. or catch secured by a pin'56 to one iiange ofthe lid. A leg 55 of the lock is adapted to bemoved into alignment (Fig. 4) `with 2l the resilient locking member 4| to prevent inward movement thereof upon pressing the push pin 40 inwardly. The exteriorly positioned leg 54 of the lock may be moved in clockwise direction to rotate the end of the interior leg 55 out of alignment (Fig. 1) with the resilient locking member 4i' and to thus permitmoperation of the latter in the usual manner by thepushpin 40. Locatedv adjacent thetop of vthe wick 23 is the upper end of the flame tube 26, previously mentioned, which may be used to provide a jet of flame suitable for igniting the tobacco in a smoking pipe. The aimet-ube 26 and its action will now be described.'

When the pocket lighter is tilted slightly in an appropriate direction, flame from the ignited wick 23 will play upon and heat the upper end of the llame tube 26. Heating this tube to a sufficient degree apparently causes liquid in a wick 45 therein to vaporize into the chamber or volume 45 shown at the upperr part oftheV iiametube. The heating effect probably :causes Ythe pressure in the volume 46 to increase-and the gases 'formed in this volume endea'vor'to escape by passing outwardly through the small holeor aperture il in the llame tube and also by passing downwardly through the wick t5 and between the wick 45 and the walls of the flame tube 26. VResistance to rapid escape of .pressure down through the ame tube is provided by extending the flame tube and wicka substantial distance into the liquid chamber 4.-v By substantial distance-it is meant that theflame tube extends'below the mid-point,4 and preferably to about three-quarters of the depth of the chamber 4. The resultant resistance to escape or venting of pressure into the liquid container 4 facilitates exit of the compressed air and volatile gasesV through the small aperture 41 at'theupper end of the-flame tube.V

As the gases emerge from the aperture they are ignited by the name 4from 'the wick 23 and projected outwardly at an angle. 'The jet of flame may be directed intothe openfbowl of a pipe.

For optimum results the wick i5 should be of closely woven material and Vit should t into the tube 2 6 with a reasonably close fit. Therclose weave and iit probably minimize escape of pressure down theflame jet tube.

With theresistance to escape of gases drown throughithe flame tube 29, it is possible to utilize a very small aperture 41 at the upper end of the flame jet tube and to thus facilitate egress of iniiammable gases for a considerable period of time, hence there is provided a ame jet which continuesfor an ample period` of time to ignitel a pipe of tobacco.' Theijet provided is relatively long and easily projectable into vthe bowl of Va pipe. While the' size ofthe chamber d3 at the upper Ypart of the flame jet' tube may be varied by suitably A'positioning the lwick 29 in vthe tube, it is preferably of the approximate sizefindicated in the drawings.

In Fig. 5 the flame jet tube is shown provided with a constriction or necked-in portion 49 extending about the tube adjacent the lower part thereof.v The constriction may be rolle'dor otherl Wise suitably formeclin the tube, and it is prefloss of back pressure'dawnthroughV the tube as the wick and the upper part of the tube are heated to volatilize the liquid in the wick and cause an increase in pressure in the tube.

In the form illustrated in Fig. 6 of the drawing, the curved neck of the tube is shown provided with a constriction or restriction 50. As the upper part of this flame jet tube is heated by a flame from a wick, the liquid in the wick volatilizes and escapes through the open end aperture and rapid loss of back pressure down through the flame jet lustrated at the lower part of Fig. 5 and also with` the constriction 50 illustrated at the bend at the upper part of Fig. 6. The two constrictions cooperate; as the upper end of the tube is heated by a llame, leakage or loss of pressure back through the tube is minimized, first, d'ue to the restriction 50 at the bend in the neck, and secondly, by the constriction 49 at the lower part of the tube. Thus, the pressure which the lower restriction 49 tends to maintain in the flame jet tube provides what may be termed a continuous action, as contrasted with the quic action provided by the constriction 50 at the curved upper part of the llame tube.

In Fig. 7 there is illustrated a modified form of flame jet tube wherein the reduced upper end 5l of the tube is provided with a separate cap 52 which fits over the reduced end of the tube. The cap 52 may be applied in any suitable manner; for example, it may be force-fitted over the end of the tube 26 and retained in place by friction or it may be screwed onto a threaded end of the tube 26. This construction may be preferable in some instances as an aid to manufacturing operations. -1

It will be seen that the present invention provides a new and improved pocket lighter adapted to be operated with one hand and which provides a flame jet useful for igniting a pipe of tobacco. The jet of ame formed by the new and improved flame jet tube is of ample length to project from the lighter into a pipe bowl and the jet is capable of enduring for a period of time amply suicient to allow a smoker to obtain thorough ignition of his pipe of tobacco.

As various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and without sacrificing any of its advantages, it is to be understood that all matter herein is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a pyrophoric lighter of the class described having a fuel reservoir and a wick in communication with said reservoir and means adapted to ignite fuel on a portion of said Wick, a flame jet tube adjacent said wick having an upper end closed except for a pinhole-like aperture and adapted to be heated by said ignited wick and having a portion extending through a reservoir wall into said fuel reservoir, the interior-1y disposed portion of the jet tube being of lesser length thanthe depth of said reservoir, a wick in said jet tube, and a wall portion of said jet tube projecting annularly inwardly beyond the normal diameter thereof and pressing circumferentially inwardly against the wick located in said jet tube.

2. In a pyrophoric lighter of the class described having a fuel reservoir and a wick in communication with said reservoir and means adapted to ignite fuel on a portion of said wick, a flame jet tube adjacent said wick having an upper end closed except for a pinhole-like aperture and adapted to be heated by said ignited wick and having a portion extending into said fuel reservoir, the interiorly disposed portion of the jet tube being of lesser length than the depth of said reservoir, a wick in said jet tube, a wall portion of said jet tube projecting annularly inwardly beyond the normal diameter thereof and pressing circumferentially inwardly against the wick located in said tube, and a wall portion of said jet tube projecting inwardly beyond the normal diameter thereof at a location spaced from said annular inward projection and pressing inwardly against the jet tube wick at said location.

3. In a pyrophoric lighter of the class described having a fuel reservoir and a Wick in communication with said reservoir and means for igniting fuel on said wick, a llame jet tube adjacent said wick having an upper lateral portion closed except for a pinhole-like aperture and adapted to be heated by flame from said wick and having a body portion extending downwardly at an angle from said lateral portion and projecting into said fuel reservoir, the interiorly disposed portion of the jet tube being of lesser length than the depth of said reservoir, a wick in said jet tube, an inwardly projecting tube wall portion forming an opening of reduced cross sectional area through said tube substantially at the location where the lateral portion of the tube forms said angle with the body portion thereof, and a wall portion of said tube projecting circumferentially inwardly with respect to adjacent jet tube wall portions and exerting concentrated circumferential pressure against a portion of the wick in said jet tube.

4. A pyrophoric lighter as claimed in claim 3, in which a portion of the walls at said angle are flattened to form said opening of reduced cross section.

FRANK D. MASON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,060,150 Adamian et al Apr. 29, 1913 1,718,902 Greene June 25, 1929 1,894,300 Barker Jan. 17, 1933 2,242,906 Evans May 20, 1941 2,424,781 Vanetzian July 29, 1947 2,433,707 Phillips Dec. 30, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 389,105 Germany Feb. 2, 1924 464,600 Great Britain Apr. 21, 1937 648,280 Germany 1935 

